World Wildlife Day 2017 3 March 2017

This year’s World Wildlife Day theme “Listen to the young voices” calls for greater engagement and empowerment of youth in conservation issues. The Collaborative Partnership on Sustainable Wildlife Management (CPW) encourages youth around the world to address ongoing major threats to wildlife including habitat change, over-exploitation, poaching or illicit trafficking.

On this occasion, the 249e edition of FAO’s quarterly forestry publication Unasylva, released today, explores the relationship between humans and wildlife.

This year’s edition of Unasylva was written in collaboration with several members of the CPW and provides insights into community-based management approaches to wildlife protection; successful management practices to alleviate human – wildlife conflicts; trophy hunting and its outcomes for wildlife conservation; and indigenous people and local communities’ views on wildlife use.

The publication also argues that the urgent challenges that we all face in maintaining biodiversity worldwide requires that indigenous peoples and local communities are empowered to act at the national and local levels and that assistance from the international community can contribute to achieving this.